Should London councils expand their new policy of decanting poorer people into the provinces into a thing of grander scope and sweep by distributing some of the capital's richer folk around the country in the same manner? This need not be done in a coercive or undignified way. They could travel to their new homes in, say, Corby, Oldham, or the Gorbals, in specially fitted Pullman carriages and would be allowed to take – this is merely a suggestion – as many as 12 pieces of matched luggage with them.

Just as it can be argued that some people have too little money to live in London, it can also be reasonably advanced that some people have too much. In fact, although this may seem harsh, rich people in London are almost in danger of losing the cachet that comes with rarity. That would not be the case in Corby, although it should be stressed that the Guardian is not singling out Corby, or indeed anywhere else, as particularly deprived.

Still, it cannot be denied that a few billionaires down the pub in some of these places would have a desirable effect on the local economy, while the nearby shopping mall would certainly have to raise its game, and the garage on the corner would have to send for some Porsche and Bentley manuals.

With luck the new citizens would soon be competing to get the library back on its feet, or vying to burnish their charitable credentials by rescuing the amateur dramatic society from the financial doldrums. Who knows what heights of moral renewal might be scaled in this way?